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Operation Guldfisken
Operation Guldfisken was the 2nd in a series of graphic novels first published in Swedish by the Stockholm based publisher Semic from 1977 onwards with text and artwork by Björn Karlstrom. Operation Guldfisken was translated by Peter James and published in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton as Biggles and the Golden Bird in 1978. Translations of the book exist in Dutch and various Scandanavian languages. Synopsis Biggles, Algy and Ginger are invited to pilot a new prototype aircraft in an attempt to break the world long distance flight record but the aircraft is stolen so they have to go on the trail of the thieves. Plot (Click on expand to read) Bigglles is invited by Fairway Aviation to captain their new Long Range monoplane on an attempt at the world long distance record. He is delighted with the test flight but discovers that he is being followed by an unknown light aircraft. That night, the light aircraft lands at the aerodrome with some men who proceed to steal the Fairways aircraft. Biggles is called out by Air Commodore Raymond to investigate. They come across the wreckage of the light aircraft, shot down by an aerodrome guard, but the pilot has escaped. Raymond has another lead--a sighting of an unknown aircraft over Port Patrick in Western Scotland and sends Biggles a de Havilland autogryro. Biggles, Algy and Ginger head north in the autogyro. Leaving Algy with the autogyro, Biggles and Ginger rendezvous with the Seafoam, a trwler whose captain had reported the sighting. Welcomed at first, the captain suddenly takes them prisoner but Ginger gets washed down a hatchway by a strong wave and discovers the real crew of the trawler, tied up by some hijackers. He releases them and together they regain control of the ship. The real captain of the Seafoam tells them the aircraft had headed due north from Port Patrick. Biggles calls in Algy and takes the autogyro northwards on the presumed track of the stolen Fairway plane but they are soon forced down by low cloud. Exploring the area, Biggles comes across a croft suspiciously guarded by an armed man. The weather clears but, not wanting to be heard by the men at the croft, Biggles runs the autogyro downslope and takes off inside a valley so that the sound of the engine would be muffled. Along the coast on a headland, they discover a deserted castle and land, hoping to use it as a base. Not surprisingly, someone else has got there first and again they are taken prisoner but Biggles evades his captors and jumps over the side of the castle and hides among the rocks on the cliff face. He finds an opening in the rock which leads to a vast grotto filled with water with a tunnel leading to the sea. He spots some men departing in a fishing smack. Meanwhile, Algy and Ginger overpower the guards bringing food to their cell. They escape and meet up with Biggles. Exploring the grotto together, they discover diving gear. They load the gear into a motor boat and set off to follow the fishing smack. Near the anchored smack, but still hidden by some rocks, Biggles stops the boat and gets himself lowered to the seabed in diving gear. He is surprised to discover a sunken u-boat. A diver is lifting suitcases out of the wreck. The diver sees and attacks but Biggles overpowers him, grabs a suitcase and comes to the surface. The suitcase contains bars of gold! They motor back to the castle and decide to make separate ways up the cliffs to reach the autogyro. Biggles reaches the castle walls and sees, of all people, von Stalhein arriving! Climbing into the castle, Biggles discovers the radio room. He knocks out the man there and sends a message to Raymond for help but gets no reply. He then spots another suitcase of gold bars and a crate of dynamite. He decides to play a trick, and switch the contents, stuffing the suitcase with dynamite and using the battery of the radio to make up for the weight of the gold. He then grabs the gun of the radio operator and goes exploring. He comes across Algy, who has been recaptured, being brought before von Stalhein for questioning. Biggles barges in and there is a standoff. Von Stalhein tells him that this is his Operation Goldfish, a scheme he hatched at the end of the war to use a U-boat to smuggle some gold out of Germany to South America. Unfortunately the submarine was wrecked but he has come to retrieve the gold and use the stolen Fairway Long Range monoplane to transport the gold the rest of the way. More of von Stalhein's men enter the room and Biggles is at a disadvantage, but just then, Ginger falls the ceiling boards from upstairs and lands among the men. Von Stalhein's men are knocked to the floor but the boss seizes the moment to flee. He grabs the suitcase from the radio room and then takes off in the autogyro Meanwhile a flight of Supermarine Stranraers, sent by Raymond, arrive. The R.A.F. crews take von Stalhein's men prisoner while Biggles borrows one of the flying boats to give chase to the autogyro. Von Stalhein is back at the croft in the valley hastily taking the Fairway aircraft out of hiding and preparing for departure. Biggles, Algy and Ginger abandon their Stranraer and parachute down to intervene but von Stalhein makes it back to the autgyro and escapes. It would take too long to prepare the Fairway for takeoff and pursuit so von Stalhein has gotten away yet again--at least he had got a black eye when he opened the suitcase to examine his gold and the dynamite in it exploded! Our friends fly the Fairway back to its home airfield where everyone is delighted that Biggles and co. still have a chance to make an attempt at the world record, but plans have to be changed--Raymond arrives and tells them he has another assignment for them! Characters *Biggles *Algy Lacey *Ginger Hebblethwaite *Air Commodore Raymond - he is styled Air Marshal Raymond here *Erich von Stalhein *Captain Gilbert *Kurt *Luke *Mick Aircraft *Fairway L.R. Monoplane - based on the actual Fairey Long Range Monoplane *de Havilland C.24 Autogyro *Supermarine Stranraer *General Aircraft Monospar ST-10 Ships *''Seafoam'' Places Research notes *The Swedish title "Operation Guldfisken" translates as "Operation Goldfish", which is what von Stalhein called his operation to smuggle some gold in an u-boat out of Germany to South America at the end of the war. This title is correctly translated in Finnish and Dutch. But the Danish, Dutch and English titles all mean "The Golden Bird", an entity which does not occur in the book at all. It could have been a mistranslation. Incongruities *The aircraft types and even the drawings of the cars and the clothing of the characters all place the action in the 1930s. Yet Von Stalhein says that he had borrowed a U-boat to smuggle away a load of gold from Germany at the end of the war. Raymond mentions Interpol. Although founded in 1923, the organisation only became known as Interpol in 1956. Editions References Category:Derivative works